Collective Bargaining

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

THE CONCEPT • The term “collective bargaining” extends to all negotiations that take place between an employer, a group of employers, or one or more employer’s organization, on the one hand, and one or more worker’s organization on the other, in order to – Determine the working conditions and terms of employment; and/or – Regulate relations between workers and employers; and/or – Regulate relations between employers’ organization and workers’ organization

CHARACTERISTICS • It is a two-way process. The essence of collective bargaining lies in the readiness of the two parties to a dispute to reach an agreement and mutually settling it. • It is a continuous process which provides a mechanism for continuing an organized relationship between union and management

CHARACTERISTICS • Collective bargaining is not a competitive process but it is essentially a complementary process, i.e. each party needs something that the other party has, namely labour can make a greater production effort and management has the capacity to pay and organize for that effort

CHARACTERISTICS • Collective bargaining is a negotiation process and is a device used by wage-earners to safeguard their interests. It is an instrument of an industrial organization for discussion and negotiation between the two parties. It is an integral part of industrial security.

TYPES OF AGREEMENTS • Agreements which are negotiated by officers during the course of conciliation proceedings and are called Settlements Under the Industrial Disputes Act. • Agreements which are concluded by the parties themselves without referring them to boards of conciliations and are signed by them. Copies of such agreements are, however, sent to appropriate government authorities

TYPES OF AGREEMENTS • Agreements which are negotiated by parties on voluntary basis when disputes are sub-judice and are latter submitted to industrial tribunals, labour courts, or labour arbitrators for incorporation into the agreement documents – The above three types of agreements are Memoranda of Settlements and are binding on the parties

TYPES OF AGREEMENTS • Agreements which are drawn up after direct negotiation between labour and management and are purely voluntary in character. These depend for their enforcement on moral force and on the goodwill and cooperation of both the parties concerned

FUNCTIONS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING • Collective bargaining acts as a technique of longrun social change • Collective bargaining acts as a peace treaty between conflicting parties • Collective bargaining creates a system of “industrial jurisprudence”. It is a method of introducing civil rights into industries, that is, of requiring that management be conducted by rules and regulations rather than by arbitrary decisions

PURPOSE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING • Brings parties closer • Develops better understanding, industrial peace, and industrial democracy • Resolves conflicts and differences • Guarantees the rights and responsibilities of workers • Develops self respect and fosters mutual trust • Brings social change through acceptable solutions • Formulate terms and conditions under which labour and management work together

ISSUES IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING • Interest Issues: refer to wages and working conditions; • Rights Issue: concern the interpretation of dos and don’ts in the course of an employment relationship;

ISSUES IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING • Market relations: are concerned with wages and working conditions; • Managerial aspects: have to do with issues like assignment of work and adjustment of workforce;

RULES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING • Procedural rules: concern mechanisms for dealing with interpretation and implementation of agreements as well as resolving conflicts • Substantial rules: concern the substance of the agreement in terms of terms and conditions of employment and control of workforce, their promotions, transfers, etc.

ILO CONVENTION • The Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 states that: – Workers must be adequately protected against acts of discrimination, in particular, acts calculated to: • Make the employment of a worker subject to conditions that he/she does not join a union or gives up union membership; • Cause the dismissal or otherwise prejudice a worker because of trade union membership or participation in trade union activities

ILO CONVENTION – Both worker’s and employer’s organization shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of interference by each other or each other’s agents or members, in particular: • Acts designed to promote the establishment of worker’s organization under the dominance of employer’s organization; • The provision of financial or other support to worker’s organization for the purpose of placing them under the dominance of employer’s organization

– Ratifying states must take measures to encourage and promote the full development and use of voluntary mechanisms of collective bargaining

UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICES (a)Refusal by employer to bargain collectively in good faith with recognized trade unions (b)Refusal by a recognized trade union to bargain collectively in good faith with the employer (c) Workers and trade union of workers indulging in coercive activities against the management

• NEGOTIATION is a process in which two or more parties who have a common or conflicting interests come together and talk with a view to reaching an agreement. It is concerned with purposeful persuasion and constructive compromise

KEY ACTIVITIES OF NEGOTIATION • Obtaining substantial rules, dividing costs and benefits, and achieving the goals dictated by the management and the members of the trade union • Influencing the balance of power between the parties. Balancing the interests of the management and the workers/members or even making it a bit favourable towards the workers

KEY ACTIVITIES OF NEGOTIATION • Influencing the atmosphere. Promoting a constructive climate and positive personal relations between the trade union members on the one hand and the management on the other • Reinforcing the position of the trade union leadership with respect to the workers on whose behalf the trade union leaders negotiate

KEY ACTIVITIES OF NEGOTIATION • Influencing the procedures. Developing procedures that allow people to be flexible while increasing the chances of reaching a favourable solution. This is possible when one is able to identify the interests of the trade union members. It is important to note that processes rather than outcomes are important; temporary gains would be short lived. But if the processes are appropriate the trust and understanding thus generated will prove useful to all concerned over a longer period of time.

RESULTS OF NEGOTIATION • WIN-LOSE: Herein the negotiating parties think that ‘winning is everything’ or ‘winning is the only thing’. One party achieves everything and the other party gains very little. • LOSE-LOSE: Both parties lose or do not gain what they want and reflect an attitude of ‘take it or leave it’. • WIN-WIN: Both parties get what they want. Instead of adopting an attitude of ‘winning is the only thing’, the parties believe in mutual gain.

STRATEGIES OF NEGOTIATION • Focus on the ‘interest’, not take position • Focus on the problem, and not personalize issues • Be creative and invent multiple solutions

STRATEGIES OF NEGOTIATION • Expand the pie • Non-specific compensation • Log rolling • Reformulate the issues

STAGES OF NEGOTIATION • PREPARATION – Collecting information – Setting objectives – Establishing priorities – Assessing the other party and its case – Detailing

STAGES OF NEGOTIATION • BARGAINING – There can not be any bargaining if both parties take a fixed stand and is unwilling to move from a set position – Parties should be willing to make compromises, offer concessions, and develop packages that are mutually beneficial

• BARGAINING (contd…) – If there is a stalemate or a deadlock in negotiations because either party does not agree to what the other says or resorts to threats or bluffs, consider different ways of dealing with the situation – Again, focus on the issues without personalizing them . Also, focus on the problem, without taking an a priori stand

STAGES OF NEGOTIATION • CLOSURE AND AGREEMENT – Keep the following in mind while concluding an agreement: • Define the scope of the agreement • Define the time-frame of the agreement • Document the agreement clearly in unambiguous terms • Specify the conditions, if any, for making the agreement operational and the consequence of non-compliance to obligations of both the parties as a result of the agreement

• Lay down the procedures for dealing with the problems of interpretation and implementation • Take your party members into confidence and brief them about the content of the agreement before it is formalized • If the legal framework so warrants, get the agreement registered with the competent authority in the government • Finally, circulate copies of the agreement among members

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO SUCCESS/FAILURE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING • Knowledge/awareness, and skills as ingredients in the process of collective bargaining. This requires adequate worker’s education, both in content and process, so that workers are not unprepared • Centralization, decentralization, and delegation: Collective bargaining fails when there is no delegation of power and authority is centralized.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO SUCCESS/FAILURE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING • Use of proper language and decorum is essential for the success of collective bargaining • Political considerations that override the issues in hand can often lead to the failure of collective bargaining • Collective bargaining can be credible and sustainable only if there is complete honesty, transparency, and mutual trust between the bargaining parties

CONDITIONS FOR MUTUAL GAINS • A favourable political climate and institutional framework that encourages collective bargaining • Recognition of the rights of organization and collective bargaining • Strong and well developed unions of workers and employers • Recognition of unions

CONDITIONS FOR MUTUAL GAINS • Goodwill on both sides • Willingness to find common interests • Realization of interdependence within and between the parties concerned • A balance of power between parties because negotiation between parties with power differences can not produce fair results • Acting in good faith • Mutual respect • A desire for mutual gains